b. ITEM 94-1002-R0397 (REVISED)Replace Boilers
at Craighead/Sisson, University Villages; The University of MontanaMissoula

Chairman Kaze noted that ITEMS 94-1001-R0397 and 94-1002-R0397
under "Capital Construction" had been revised. He reminded the Board they were
voting on the revised versions, which included a change in funding sources.

Chairman Kaze also noted that ITEM 94-1600-R0397 from
Western Montana College of The University of Montana was being amended to delete the
entries for Robert G. Cashell and Arlene H. Tustin.

Regent Green moved that the Board approve all items on the
Consent Agenda (both Staff and Capital Construction), including the revised versions
of ITEMS 94-1001-R0397 and 94-1002-R0397, and the amended version of ITEM
94-1600-R0397.The motion passed unanimously.

Regent Green moved that the Board appoint Interim
Commissioner Richard Crofts as Commissioner of Higher Education, effective immediately,
and set his salary at $500 higher than that currently paid to the two university
presidents, with an additional two-year term to begin July 1, 1997.The motion
passed unanimously.

On behalf of the Board, Chairman Kaze said Richard Crofts had done
an outstanding job for the university system under difficult circumstances, and the
Regents believed he deserved the recognition of receiving the permanent job. Chairman Kaze
said there was no further reason for delaying the decision, and the Board was ready to
move forward with Commissioner Crofts.

Regent Green pointed out that Commissioner Crofts was originally
hired into the university system as Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs after a
national search.

STUDENT REPORTS

Regent Green introduced Brad Schlepp as the newly elected student
body president at Montana State UniversityBozeman.

Noting that student affairs issues had been discussed at the January
1997 Regents meeting, Mr. Schlepp said MSUBozeman was trying to find ways to
improve advising. He summarized discussions underway that focused on a type of
developmental advising system.

Chairman Kaze said it would be helpful if Mr. Schlepp reported
periodically back to the Board on the status and progress of their efforts and
discussions.

The Board recessed at 12:00 noon for its
luncheon/meeting with student government representatives.

The Board reconvened at 1:30 p.m.

Chairman Kaze called on Governor Marc Racicot for some comments on
the status of the budget during the current legislative process.

Governor Racicot summarized the legislative budget process beginning
with his offices preparation of the executive budget. He said while it did not
reflect the wants and desires of everyone, it did represent the best effort of all
involved. At that time, Senate Finance and Claims was making its determinations with
alterations from House deliberations, and action was expected on the Senate floor.
Governor Racicot said the budget to that point did not embrace the recommendations made in
reference to the university system, corrections, or human services.

Governor Racicot noted they had learned a lot during the process.
For instance, they were able to offer a number of different reductions because the numbers
they had used throughout the course of the budgeting process had been further refined by
the time the budget was considered. Pursuant to their own initiative and throughout the
process of discovery, Governor Racicot said they were able to put on the table between $25
and $30 million in cuts to their own budget. Although they had not yet come to the same
understanding with the legislature about corrections, higher education, and human
services, they were continuing to address some gaps. At that time, higher education was
$14.4 million below the executive budget recommendation and $4.4 million below what the
system had during the last biennium in terms of general fund allocation. Governor Racicot
said they would present their case to the next decision-making body, which he expected to
be a conference committee between the House and Senate.

Governor Racicot said the executive continued to believe in its
recommendations and could possibly discover some further possibilities for adjustment that
would be acceptable to the university system. He said while they would make any
adjustments they thought acceptable without compromising the performance of their legal
responsibilities, they would not compromise anything that would disallow their ability to
carry out legislative directions.

Governor Racicot also discussed research and development and
commented on some concerns with House Bills 5 and 14.

Chairman Kaze thanked Governor Racicot for his remarks.

STUDENT REPORTS (continued)

Jim McCray, ASMSU and MAS president, announced that MAS had met the
previous evening and was recommending to Governor Racicot that Jason Thielman (current MAS
vice-president and ASUM president) replace Mike Green as the new student regent effective
June 1, 1997.

Mr. McCray said the students also met with Governor Racicot in
regard to student concerns about the legislatures handling of the university
systems budget and long-range planning in House Bills 5 and 14.

Sheila Stearns, Chancellor of Western Montana College of The
University of Montana, distributed an outline (on file) titled "Credit Hours in
Teacher Education Programs, Presentation to the Montana Board of Regents, March
1997." Chancellor Stearns called the Boards attention to a document (on file)
titled "Request for Exception to the Board of Regents 120 Credit Requirement for
Undergraduate Degree Programs" first presented to the Board in May 1996. At that
time, the education programs were asked to return to the Board to explain and justify,
according to criteria set out in Board policy 301.11, the necessity for teacher education
programs to continue requiring 128 credit hours instead of being limited to 120 credits.
Chancellor Stearns said she was representing the deans of the schools of education and
added that the deans of the three private colleges (Carroll College, Rocky Mountain
College, and The University of Great Falls) agreed that a reduction in the 128 credits
would compromise quality.

Chancellor Stearns said a reduction from 128 to 120 credits would
jeopardize accreditation, diminish quality, and harm employability, and those would be the
primary issues addressed during their presentation. She then presented and reviewed a
series of overhead transparencies.

The Board heard additional remarks in support of retaining the
teacher education programs at 128 credits from Heidi Vestman, first-year teacher and
graduate of Montana State UniversityBozeman; Kirk Miller, Havre Public Schools
Superintendent and Board of Public Education member; Wayne Buchanan, Board of Public
Education Secretary; and Randy Hitz, chair of the Montana Council of Deans of Education
and dean from Montana State UniversityBozeman.

Dean Randy Hitz said surrounding states had been surveyed a year ago
and updated this year. South Dakota and Idaho were at 128. Oregons programs were
almost exclusively fifth-year programs, but their few four-year programs were at 128.
Nevada had nearly all fifth-year programs, and California did not have any undergraduate
programs. Wyomings programs ranged from 136 to 150 credits.

Chairman Kaze asked whether a member of the Board of Public
Education would be able to determine whether teacher education standards had been met
based on the number of credits a student received.

Board of Public Education Secretary Wayne Buchanan said a student
could have any number of credits, and a member of the Board of Public Education could not
be assured the subjects had been covered. He said they do review the programs at the
various teacher preparation colleges to determine whether those indeed were being taught.

Chairman Kaze said he did not believe the number of credit hours
would make someone a better or lesser teacher. The issue was what a student learned.
Whether that could be done in 128 or 50 credits, the issue was what the student learned
rather than the number of credits.

In response to a question from Regent Jasmin, Chairman Kaze said one
of the components in phase two of the restructuring was to require the system to take a
hard look at reducing the number of credits to graduation to 120 in an effort to encourage
students to get through the system in a shorter period of time. He said since a reduction
in tuition was unlikely for the future, one thing they could do was reduce the time to
degree and thereby reduce the cost to the student.

Regent Thompson asked how close they were to proficiency-based
degrees.

Dean Hitz said progress had been made both at the state and national
levels. However, they were a long way from changing the system to the point where credit
hours did not matter.

Commissioner Crofts asked what had been done since May 1996 in terms
of trying to come to grips with this issue as opposed to working on some strong arguments
against lowering the requirement.

Dean Hitz said they had done a lot. Every dean had spoken at length
with faculty in the colleges of education and arts and sciences. The conclusion among
those groups had not changed since May 1996, which was why the document the Board received
in May 1996 had not changed. They had received new letters of support for the exception
and had spoken at length with representatives from the Montana Education Association;
Certification Standards & Practice Advisory Council; Board of Public Education; School
Administrators of Montana; and the School Boards Association. All those individuals and
groups said the 128 credits had to be retained because it meant students would have more
time to develop the competencies required for accreditation and employability.

Following lengthy discussion, Regent Green pointed out these people
were having huge impacts on students. They said they needed at least 128 credits, and
Regent Green thought they should be granted the exception.

Chairman Kaze said he again wanted to emphasize that competencies
were not measured in credits. He said that was not the issue.

Regent Green moved that the Board approve the requests
for exceptions to the 120 credit hour requirement for the teacher education programs at
Montana State UniversityBozeman, Montana State UniversityBillings, Montana
State UniversityNorthern; The University of MontanaMissoula, and Western
Montana College of The University of Montana. Following further discussion, the motion
passed by a 4-to-2 vote; Regent Conroy and Chairman Kaze voted against the motion.

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee met at 9:00 a.m. in
Conference Room 102A of the Higher Education Complex at 2500 Broadway in Helena. Committee
members present included Regents Margie Thompson (acting chair), Ed Jasmin, and Mike
Green. Chairman Kaze asked Regent Thompson to present the committee's report to the full
Board.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The following Level I changes were approved by the Commissioner's
Office (March 26, 1997 memo to Board of Regents from Interim Deputy Commissioner for
Academic Affairs Stuart Knapp on file):

a. The University of MontanaMissoula

Add emphasis in Instructional Design for Technology within the
Masters of Education degree.

b. Helena College of Technology of The University of Montana

Expand the existing one-year certificate program in Carpentry to a
two-year Carpentry/Construction Trades Associate of Applied Science degree. Continuation
of the program beyond the two years would require submission of a complete Level II
proposal to the Board of Regents in January 1999.

Change the name of the Industrial Electronics program to Electronics
Technology.

c. College of Technology, Montana Tech of The University of
Montana

Drop the Environmental Technology AAS program and add two emphases
to the current Engineering Technology AAS program: Environmental Technology and Petroleum
Technology.

d. Western Montana College of The University of Montana

Approval to deliver the same Bachelor of Science in Elementary
Education Degree that is offered on the Western campus to the Salish-Kootenai College
campus beginning fall 1997.

e. Montana State UniversityBillings

Addition of a teaching minor in Computer Science.

f. Montana State UniversityBozeman

Departmental title change from Department of Electrical Engineering
to Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

a. ITEM 94-2002-1501-R0397Authorization for the
College of Engineering, Montana State UniversityBozeman, and Montana Tech of The
University of Montana to Offer a Masters of Project Engineering and Management

b. ITEM 94-2701-R0397Approval of Proposal to
Implement the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Process Plant TechnologyMontana
State UniversityBillings, College of Technology

Regent Thompson said ITEMS 94-2002-1501-R0397 and 94-2701-R0397
had been moved from the consent agenda/submission to the submission agenda.

The Board concurred with the committees recommendation
to move ITEMS 94-2002-1501-R0397 and 94-2701-R0397to the action
agenda at the May 22-23, 1997 meeting in Great Falls.

c. ITEM 94-1003-R0397Approval of Proposal to
Create a New Doctoral Degree in Wildlife Biology; The University of MontanaMissoula

d. ITEM 94-2006-R0397Authorization to Reinstate
the Doctoral Program in Fish and Wildlife BiologyMontana State
UniversityBozeman

Regent Thompson said the committee discussed these two items
together, and the provosts from Missoula and Bozeman agreed to come back to the Board in
May with a joint degree.

Regent Green added that the committee recommended moving both these
items forward to action at the May 1997 meeting as written but with the understanding they
would come back with a degree with a title that looked more similar to Item A. on the
Consent Agenda (the joint degree between MSUBozeman and Montana Tech of The UM).

The Board concurred with the committees recommendation
to move ITEMS 94-1003-R0397 and 94-2006-R0397 to the action agenda
at the May 1997 meeting.

e. ITEM 94-1502-R0397Approval of Proposal to
Initiate a New Instructional Program Leading to a Masters Degree in Technical
CommunicationsThe University of MontanaMissoula and Montana Tech of The
University of Montana

The Board concurred with the committees recommendation
to move ITEM 94-1502-R0397to the action agenda at the May 1997 meeting.

f. ITEM 94-2003-R0397Authorization for the
School of Architecture to Replace the Current 5-Year 150 Semester Credit Bachelor of
Architecture Degree with (1) a 4-Year 120 Semester Credit Bachelor of Arts and
Environmental Design Degree and (2) a Subsequent 1-Year 30 Semester Credit Master of
Architecture Degree; Montana State UniversityBozeman

Chairman Kaze said he had some questions about this proposal and
during the interim between the submission and action phases would appreciate hearing from
MSUBozeman for some clarification.

Paul Gleye, a member of the architecture faculty at
MSUBozeman, said he was the principal author of the proposal and responded to
several questions from Regents. Professor Gleye said if the proposal were approved, they
would need to go back and establish a policy for previous graduates. In response to
whether the proposal would dilute graduate education, he said in many fields it was
accepted that a bachelors degree was a four-year program and a subsequent fifth-year
program led to a masters degree. He said their intent was to bring architectural
education in Montana in line with overall expectations for four- and five-year programs
and did not believe it would cause any dilution of graduate education.

In response to a question from Chairman Kaze, Professor Gleye said
licensure was not affected by this. To become a licensed architect, a student must go
through a five-year program and a three-year internship in an architects office.

Regent Jasmin asked why someone would leave the program after four
years.

Professor Gleye said some of their students were not interested
specifically in becoming a licensed architect. Some were interested in the business or
marketing aspects of architecture. With the four-year degree, they could continue toward a
masters degree in business, marketing, or another field. He said this also allowed
students to withdraw from the program early if for some reason they should not be there.

Following further discussion, the Board concurred with the
committees recommendation to move ITEM 94-2003-R0397to the action
agenda at the May 1997 meeting.

g. ITEM 94-2004-2702-R0397Authorization to Offer
a Bachelor of Science in Health AdministrationMontana State UniversityBozeman
and Montana State UniversityBillings

h. ITEM 94-2005-2703-R0397Authorization to Offer
a Masters in Health AdministrationMontana State UniversityBozeman and Montana
State UniversityBillings

Regent Thompson noted that The University of MontanaMissoula
would be coming forward in July with a health administration option in their MBA program.

George Dennison, President of The University of Montana, said he
understood it would be a Level I change because it was simply a track within the MBA.

Regent Green said Provost Bob Kindrick from The UMMissoula
raised the issue as a heads-up to the committee.

Montana State University President Michael Malone said they were
making no claim to exclusivity. These were different types of degrees that could address
health care administration. He said they were not meant to be preemptive.

Following further discussion, the Board concurred with the
committees recommendation to move ITEMS 94-2004-2702-R0397and94-2005-2703-R0397
to the action agenda at the May 1997 meeting.

i. ITEM 94-301-R0397Proposal to Establish the
Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree to Replace Both the A.A. and the A.S. Degrees;
Flathead Valley Community College

The Board concurred with the committees recommendation
to move ITEM 94-301-R0397 to the action agenda at the May 1997 meeting,
at which time they would receive a recommendation from the two-year committee in regard to
the names of two-year degree programs.

Regent Thompson said the committee recommended changing the title of
the item to "Authorization to Expand and Rename the Existing Center for Bison Studies
to the Bison and Wildlife Health Center" at Montana State UniversityBozeman.

Regent Green said they were not establishing a new center, but this
was a refinement of the title to reflect what they were doing.

Regent Thompson moved that the Board concur with the
committees recommendation to approve ITEM 94-2005-R0197 as amended. Themotion passed unanimously.

Regent Thompson said the committee also heard two reports: (1) an
update on student services issues in distance-learning from Dr. Allen Yarnell, Vice
Provost for Student Affairs at MSUBozeman; and (2) a brief update from the two-year
education committee on how they were striving for more uniformity in two-year degrees
systemwide.

Chairman Kaze said the committee was presented with a draft policy
(on file) from Chief Legal Counsel LeRoy Schramm titled "Competition with Private
Enterprise." The policy was drafted in response to House Bill 500, which addressed
the university systems competition with private business in a variety of
enterprises. The policy discussed areas such as standards for potentially competitive
activities, exceptions, primacy of academic and campus community uses, consideration of
potential harm, preservation of campus discretion, allowance of supplementary campus
policies, appeal procedures, and creation of no new legal rights. Chairman Kaze said the
committee discussed these issues at length and also heard comments from several members of
the public, including Alan S. Newell from Historical Research Associates, Inc. in Missoula
(written comments from Mr. Newell on file). Following discussion, the committee asked the
Commissioners Office and the campuses to come up with some type of method that would
incorporate as many constituencies as possible into development of a policy so that it did
not come from the top down. A policy would be brought back to the Regents at some point,
but they were considering the draft policy discussed during the committee meeting as an
information rather than submission item.

Regent Thompson asked when the issue might come back to the Board.

Commissioner Crofts said it would likely be subsequent to the May
meeting, perhaps in July.

Chairman Kaze said Commissioner Crofts would seek additional input
to make sure the policy that came back to the Board would be the best they could develop.

Regent Conroy said ITEM 39-001-R0683 was placed on the
submission agenda at the request of Regent Green. He suggested Board Policy 940.23 be
revised to change student representation on computer fee advisory committees from 25 to 50
percent.

The Board concurred with the committees recommendation
to move ITEM 39-001-R0683 to the action agenda at the May 1997 meeting.

Regent Conroy said ITEM 94-001-R0197 had been on
submission at the January 1997 meeting. Following discussion, the committee recommended
deleting the first sentence in the policy along with the first word in the second
sentence, which was "therefore." With the changes, the new policy would read:
"Residents of Montana who take additional courses afer earning a baccalaureate degree
will be charged 120% of the resident undergraduate rate. Nonresident students will pay the
resident assessment plus a nonresident fee equivalent to the nonresident graduate
incidental fee."

Chairman Kaze said this policy had been embedded in the overall
tuition policy. However, because of the issue related to 120% for postbaccalaureate degree
coursework, some confusion had resulted, and they were setting this part aside as a
separate policy. Following discussion, the committee recommended stating in the policy
they were going to charge 120% tuition for residents taking coursework after they had
completed one baccalaureate degree.

Regent Green said he opposed this policy because it seemed to be
sending a message that the Regents were providing a disincentive to continuing learners.
He said it would impact teachers and other educators because of legal requirements they
had to seek continuing education.

Following further discussion, Regent Conroy moved that the
Board concur with the committees recommendation to approve ITEM
94-001-R0197 as amended (first sentence and first word of second sentence
deleted). The motion passed by a 5-to-1 vote; Regent Green voted against the
motion.

b. ITEM 94-2007-R0397Authorization to Purchase
and Erect a Modular Laboratory Building at Marsh Laboratory; Montana State
UniversityBozeman

President Malone said this was a support facility to the Marsh Lab
and would be funded entirely with federal and private funds. He said the project would
require approval by Governor Racicot before they could proceed.

Following brief discussion, Regent Conroy moved that the
Board concur with the committees recommendation to approve ITEM
94-2007-R0397. The motion passed unanimously.

Associate Commissioner for Fiscal Affairs Rod Sundsted distributed
these audit documents (on file) and noted the results of all the audits were positive.

c. Workers' Compensation InsurancePotential Changes

Rod Sundsted distributed a March 27, 1997 memo (on file) to the
Board to provide some information on changes being considered for the university
systems workers compensation coverage. He said they were required by statute
to purchase workers comp insurance through the state fund. Through the
administrative services review, they had tried to have the statute changed. However, House
Bill 98, which would have allowed private and self-insurance, failed to pass in the
legislature. They did make some progress and were negotiating with the state fund to set
up an alternative financing schedule for the systems workers comp coverage.
Mr. Sundsted said that over the past five years, they had paid about $8.4 million in
workers comp premiums. With $3.6 million paid out in claims, approximately $4.75
million of the systems money was being held from as far back as 1992. Under a
retrospective premium plan, the system could maintain that money, earn interest on it, and
take advantage of the cash flow. With a positive experience, that money would stay with
the system. Mr. Sundsted said a lot of work remained, but they were hopeful the change
could be made as soon as Fiscal Year 1998.

d. Enrollment/Revenue Update

Rod Sundsted distributed a handout (on file) to the Board that
updated enrollments for the current and last fiscal years. He said the numbers on top were
resident enrollmentswhat was projected coming out of the last legislative session,
the actual enrollments, and the difference. For every student they funded who did not show
up, $1,650 would be returned to the state. As a result of that commitment, they would be
returning about $1.3 million to the general fund at the end of this fiscal year. The
numbers at the bottom of the handout showed nonresident students. Again, the commitment
was that if nonresident enrollment was exceeded by more than one percent over the
biennium, that amount would be remanded to the Regents. The second two pages of the
handout included WUE students. Mr. Sundsted said those pages included more detailed
information but should be tied to the first page.

Following discussion, the Board recessed at 4:45 p.m. for a meeting
with faculty representatives.

President Dennison provided the Regents with a report (on file) on
the implementation of the policy approved by the Regents in 1990, which indicated the
Board was interested in minority achievement and asked that each president and chancellor
develop a plan to address the issues. As indicated in the policy, those issues were (a) to
enroll and graduate larger numbers of American Indians in particular but also other
minorities; (b) increase the employment of those same groups in administration, faculty,
staff, etc.; and (c) enhance the curriculum by introducing multicultural awareness and
understanding. Diversity action plans were approved in 1991. The report provided to the
Regents would give the Board a sense of how the campuses had implemented those action
plans.

President Dennison said although they had not successfully achieved
all their goals, they had made progress. Enrollment and graduation of Native American
students had increased. Since Native American students who began in the tribal colleges
tended to graduate in larger numbers or higher rates when they went on to the four-year
schools, the four-year campuses were forming close relationships with the tribal colleges.
President Dennison said it would take additional resources to accomplish what they had
outlined in terms of enrolling and graduating more minorities, along with employing more
minorities. In terms of overall curriculum change and curriculum development, they were
introducing multicultural awareness into the curriculum. In summary, they were making
progress where they could and were beginning to address other areas as resources became
available.

Montana State University

President Malone referred to the executive summary in the report (on
file) provided to the Regents and noted that all the MSU campuses had plans in place and
were making progress. However, they were still short of where they would like or ought to
be. He noted four "bullets" in the report: (a) most units had shown modest
increases in the enrollment of American Indian and other minority students; (b) all units
had difficulty attracting, hiring, and retaining American Indian and other ethnic minority
faculty and staff; (c) all campuses needed to improve the retention and graduation of
American Indian and other ethnic minority students; and (d) all campuses needed to foster
a campus climate that celebrated cultural diversity and promoted tolerance. President
Malone noted that while they were not where they would like to be, the goals were a high
priority on all the campuses.

Chairman Kaze wondered they could make the information included in
the reports more meaningful.

President Dennison said they had discussed trying to develop a
process that would be more informative and would focus on the relationships that were
going to be important if they were to succeed in these vital efforts. He said they ought
to be experimenting and thinking hard about the next report and said they should be
presented annually. The numbers needed to be associated with real people.

Chairman Kaze said he felt the Board should play an active or
proactive role in the process..

Commissioner Crofts said they needed to make it clear this was a
system issue and find ways to encourage interest at a level equal to that in other issues
such as restructuring, budgeting, and enrollment management.

President Malone said the Regents would meet in Bozeman in November
1997, which coincided with a meeting with tribal college presidents. Perhaps that type of
interaction could be part of the agenda for the November Regents meeting.

Following further discussion, Chairman Kaze thanked the campuses for
their reports.

OLD BUSINESS (continued)

b. Reallocation of Remanded Tuition

Commissioner Crofts distributed his recommendation on the
reallocation of remanded tuition (March 26, 1997 memo on file). According to the memo, the
remanded tuition from MSUBozeman totaled $412,830, which required adjustment because
the numbers from one the campuses needed to be reduced. Referring to page 2 of the memo,
Commissioner Crofts noted that $212,830 would be returned to MSUBozeman to help
cover the marginal cost of educating additional nonresident students. Of the remaining
$200,000, $75,000 would be distributed to MSUNorthern and $125,000 to Western
Montana College of The UM. In addition to the remanded tuition, OCHE would have
approximately $200,000 remaining at the end of the biennium that could be moved under the
lump-sum appropriation to address critical campus needs. Those funds resulted from
expenditures lower than budgeted in a number of areas, with the major contributors being
the WICHE/WAMI program and Perkins matching funds. Instead of reverting this $200,000 to
the general fund, they were exercising their option to use those dollars where they were
most needed. Therefore, he was recommending that $200,000 be distributed as follows:
$25,000 to MSUNorthern, $150,000 to MSUBillings, and $25,000 to Western.
Commissioner Crofts asked that the Regents also give his office the authority to make the
necessary adjustments in the numbers, which would be $60,000 to $65,000 less than the
$412,830 originally anticipated. The numbers on the recommendations would have to be
adjusted downward by that amount.

In response to a question from Regent Thompson, Commissioner Crofts
said the critical needs for the funds related to enrollment shortfalls throughout the
biennium at MSUNorthern and Western, and this year at MSUBillings.

Regent Jasmin moved that the Board accept Commissioner Crofts
recommendations outlined in his March 26, 1997 memo and grant his office the authority to
adjust the figures based on the actual numbers of remanded tuition.

Regent Green said he felt the student assistance dollars should stay
in student assistance programs.

Commissioner Crofts said his office was convinced the three campuses
in question had serious fiscal problems that would have an impact on students if some type
of financial assistance were not received.

Commissioner Crofts reviewed the status of the university
systems budget and briefly summarized several bills. He said his office would
prepare a written summary of all the bills it was tracking and provide that to the Regents
the following week.

COMMISSIONERS REPORT

a. Update on Negotiations with Land Board

Chief Legal Counsel LeRoy Schramm said the Regents had filed suit
with the Supreme Court in early January to have the authority question answered in regard
to university land sales. In late January, the Attorney General and Land Board filed a
response in opposition, saying they did not think it should in the Supreme Court. A
legislative committee was formed and urged the parties involved to enter into some type of
negotiations. As a result, Chief Counsel Schramm said they had asked for a 30-day delay
jointly with the Attorney Generals office in late February. The 30 days ended March
27. Several days before that, the Attorney General asked if they would agree to extend
that another 30 days. Chief Counsel Schramm said he agreed to that because the Regents had
originally agreed to a 45-day delay. He said negotiations were ongoing, and they were
attempting to cooperate in developing some type of settlement.

CAMPUS REPORTS

a. The University of MontanaMissoula

President Dennison distributed a brochure (on file) on the QAC-II
conference that would be held in Missoula June 8-10, 1997. He hoped all the Regents could
attend and noted that Regent Thompson would be a major participant in the conference.

President Dennison said a Native American health care conference was
scheduled in Missoula April 21-22, 1997, with participants from the Indian Health Service
and others, followed by a cultural conference and the usual Pow-Wow. The focus of the
conference was on traditional health care from the Native Americans perspective and
how that integrated with the typical type of health care.

President Dennison said the "America Reads" challenge was
in the process of organizing locally as well as throughout the state. President Dennison
said he was serving as member of the steering committee appointed by the President to
secure participation from all the schools that will receive an increase in their student
financial aid work study money next year. The President has asked all the institutions to
devote half of that money to pay tutors who will work with third graders in the public
schools. They were trying to go beyond that and tie it in with volunteerism, which was the
focus of the upcoming Presidents Summit in Philadelphia chaired by Colin Powell.
President Dennison said he would attend that conference as Montanas representative
since he was chair of the Governors Committee on Community Service.

b. Montana State UniversityBozeman

President Malone announced that three MSUBozeman students had
been selected as Goldwater Scholars.

President Malone said a USA Today article listed the seven
Division I-AA schools that were in compliance with Title IX. To pass the test, the
percentage of female athletes must exceed or be within five points of the percentage of
its female undergraduates. President Malone noted that MSUBozeman, at 44 percent,
was sixth on the list.

c. Montana State UniversityBillings

Kris Copenhaver, outgoing student body president at
MSUBillings, introduced Kim Cunningham as the new president of ASMSUBillings.

With no other business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned
at 10:15 a.m.